FULHAM (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Kensington, Kensington division of the hundred of Ossulstone, county of Middlesex, 4 miles (S. W. by W.) from London; containing 9319 inhabitants. This place is situated on the north bank of the Thames, and consists of several irregularly-built streets, and various handsome detached houses, and ranges of modern buildings, chiefly in a direction towards Walham-Green; it is partially paved, lighted with gas from works in the district of Walham-Green, and amply supplied with water from the river and from springs. Fulham is a spot of considerable antiquity: the Danes, on their invasion of England, fixed their head-quarters here, in 879; and, after wintering in the place, set sail for Flanders in the spring. In 1642, the Earl of Essex, the republican general, caused a bridge to be built, on barges and lighters, across the Thames, from Fulham to Putney, for the conveyance of his army and artillery into Surrey; and the parliamentary army under Sir Thomas Fairfax was quartered here in 1647. The manor, which appears to have belonged to the see of London from the end of the seventh century, was sold by order of the parliamentary commissioners in 1647, but restored in 1660; and the manor-house, or palace of Fulham, has been from a very early period the summer residence of the bishop. This mansion, of which the more ancient portion, consisting of the outer court, was built by Bishop FitzJames in the reign of Henry VII., is beautifully situated on the bank of the Thames, in a park embellished with trees of stately growth; it is built of brick, and is approached by a noble avenue leading to the entrance lodge, which displays some interesting details in the later English style. On the north side of the residence is the chapel, the windows of which are ornamented with stained glass removed from the chapel of London House, Aldersgate-street. Bishop Compton, distinguished for his love of botany, in the beginning of the last century improved the gardens by the introduction of a number of curious plants and forest-trees, particularly from North America. In the vicinity of Fulham are several extensive nursery-grounds, and much of the land is occupied by market-gardeners, who are noted for the cultivation of asparagus. There are a manufactory for brown stone-ware, and an extensive malt-kiln. Fulham is connected with Putney, in Surrey, by a wooden bridge over the Thames, built by Mr. Philips, carpenter to George II. The parish is within a police-court district, formed by order of council in 1841.
The living comprises a rectory and a vicarage, the former a sinecure, valued in the king's books at £26, and in the hands of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners: the latter is valued at £10; net income, £1135; patron, the Bishop. The church is an ancient stone structure, consisting of a nave, aisles, and chancel, with a handsome tower at the west end, in the decorated English style, and contains a single stone stall with a canopy ornamented by quatrefoils, and also some monuments. It was repaired and enlarged at a cost of £1900, raised by subscription, in 1840, when 230 sittings were added; and the tower was restored in 1845, at an expense of about £1000. Among the distinguished persons interred here, may be mentioned Dr. William Butts, physician to Henry VIII.; Dr. Richard Zouch, professor of civil law at Oxford, in the reign of Charles I.; Bishops Compton, Gibson, Sherlock, and Lowth; Dr. Richard Fiddes, author of a life of Cardinal Wolsey; and Dr. William Cadogan, an eminent physician, who died in 1797. At North-End is a donative in the gift of the Rev. Sparks Byers: St. John's district church, Walham-Green, was erected in 1829. In 1834, an act was procured for separating Hammersmith from Fulham, and constituting it a distinct parish. There is a place of worship for Independents. Sir William Powell, Bart., in 1680 founded twelve almshouses for widows, and endowed them with property producing £51 per annum, to which considerable additions have been made by subsequent benefactors. Seven almshouses for aged men and their wives were built in 1834, at an expense of £530, on a piece of land between Walham-Green and Hammersmith; and the parish, having received £700 from the West London Railroad Company, for part of Wormholt Common, voted £534 for erecting seven additional houses for single persons of either sex.See Walham-Green.
